The Habit Mapper

from Dr. Jud

To change habits you need to know how they work.

The Habit Mapper is a simple tool that will help you

understand how your brain works, so you can work with
it to change your behavior and break bad habits.

All habits have three elements: a TRIGGER, a BEHAVIOR, and a RESULT.

1 2
The TRIGGER is what starts The BEHAVIOR is the habit
the habit. It can be something itself. It could be a physical
you see or a place you visit, or behavior like biting your nails
just a thought, emotion, or or too much time on social
physical sensation. media. It can also be a mental
behavior like worrying or
self-judgement.
3
The RESULT is how you feel
after the behavior. In the
short term, this might feel
good, but in the long term,
not as much.

For example, imagine you have a habit of eating too many

cookies or potato chips:

TRIGGERS RESULTS
Emotions/Sensations: In the moment:
- Stressed out after long day - Feel less hungry
BEHAVIOR
- Feel restless or hungry - Salt / sugar makes you
after a meal Eating a whole bag feel good
of chips or cookies.
Situations: Over time:
- See package on counter - Feel less in control
- No healthy food - May contribute to
in house unhealthy weight gain

Learn more at DrJud.com To begin mapping your habits fill in the loops on the next page
 The Habit Mapper
from Dr. Jud

By breaking down your habit into its three parts, you

can begin to recognize how the habit starts, and how
unrewarding and unhelpful it is for you. This is ‘’new
information’’ for your brain, and is the most important
step in breaking bad habits.

Let’s get started!

BEHAVIOR
Describe what you want
to change.

TRIGGERS RESULTS
Is it a thought, an emotion, Ask yourself “What do I
or a smell? get from this?”

Learn more at Print this out and post it someplace you can see it every day to
DrJud.com give your brain the feedback it needs to kick your habit for good.
 The Habit Mapper
from Dr. Jud

Now that you know how to map a habit by breaking

it down into its three parts, you can apply this
technique to other bad habits or unwanted
behaviors. Try it out below.

BEHAVIOR BEHAVIOR

TRIGGERS RESULTS TRIGGERS RESULTS

BEHAVIOR BEHAVIOR

TRIGGERS RESULTS TRIGGERS RESULTS

To learn about the app version of the Print this out and keep it with you. See how many habit
Unwinding Anxiety program, visit DrJud.com loops you can identify and map throughout the day.